That Obliging Jurist, Judge David Gustafson, has a designated hitter today. In spite of Mies van der Rohe, Judge David Gustafson is convinced that more is more in Loys Vallee, Docket No. 13513-16W, filed 7/31/18.
Loys has been here before. See my blogpost “General Knowledge, Private Information,” 7/7/17, and “A Word to a Colleague,” 7/21/17.
Loys takes a while to get there, but he convinces Judge Gustafson that the record in his blower case isn’t all it should be. So Judge Gustafson places both Loys’ motion for more discovery and IRS’ motion for summary J in a holding pattern until IRS certifies and delivers the entire administrative file, so Judge Gustafson can see if everything is there that should be.
In fact, even Loys’ original Form 211 is missing from the papers thus far filed.
We all know that Section 7623 whistleblowing is different from the mine run of Tax Court cases, because third-party info is involved, and Section 6103 casts a wide mantle over tax return info. Of course, there’s an exception: Reg. 301.6103(h)(4)-1(a) applies here, and the items in the targets’ return are relevant to this proceeding.
Loys claims more IRS people were involved in this case than IRS’s declarations in support of their summary J motion state.
“We cannot resolve this dispute–either in the context of the Commissioner’s current motion for summary judgment, nor later in these proceedings–without having the administrative file before us. This means that, at least for the time being, we must deny the Commissioner’s motion. To enable us to resolve this dispute in due course, and to ensure that Mr. Vallee was provided with the entire administrative record, we will, in a manner analogous to Rule 217(b), order the Commissioner to file with the Court the entire administrative record, borrowing the definition from Rule 210(b)(12), appropriately certified as to its genuineness by the Commissioner or by an official authorized to act for the Commissioner in such situation.” Order, at p. 7.
Takeaway- If your case is a record-ruler, your case stands or falls on that record. Make sure you and the Judge get it all.
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